The Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

9.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), any arrears of, or any concessionary payment made to compensate for arrears due to the non-payment of— N.I.

(a) any payment specified in paragraphs 7, 9 or 10 of Schedule 6;

(b) an income-related benefit or supplementary benefit under the Supplementary Benefits (Northern Ireland) Order 1977(1), family income supplement under the Family Income Supplements Act (Northern Ireland)1971(2), working families’ tax credit under section 127 of the Act, disabled person’s tax credit under section 128 of the Act or housing benefit under the Housing Benefits (Northern Ireland) Order 1983(3);

(c) an income-based jobseeker’s allowance;

(d) any discretionary housing payment paid pursuant to regulation 2(1) of the Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001;

(e) working tax credit and child tax credit,

but only for a period of 52 weeks from the date of the receipt of arrears or of the concessionary payment.

(2) In a case where the total of any arrears and, if appropriate, any concessionary payment referred to in sub-paragraph (1) relating to one of the specified payments, benefits or allowances amounts to £5,000 or more (referred to in this sub-paragraph and in sub-paragraph (3) as “the relevant sum”) and is—

(a) paid in order to rectify or to compensate for, an official error as defined in regulation 1(2) of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations(4); and

(b) received by the claimant in full on or after 14th October 2001,

sub-paragraph (1) shall have effect in relation to such arrears or concessionary payment either for a period of 52 weeks from the date of receipt, or, if the relevant sum is received in its entirety during the award of housing benefit, for the remainder of that award if that is a longer period.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2), “the award of housing benefit” means—

(a) the award in which the relevant sum is first received (or the first part thereof where it is paid in more than one instalment); and

(b) where that award is followed by one or more further awards which, or each of which, begins immediately after the end of the previous award, such further award provided that for that further award the claimant—

(i) is the person who received the relevant sum, or

(ii) is the partner of the person who received the relevant sum, or was that person’s partner at the date of his death.

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 7 para. 9 in operation at 20.11.2006, see reg. 1(1)

(1)

S.I. 1977/2156 (N.I. 27)

(2)

1971 c. 8 (N.I.)

(3)

S.I. 1983/1121 (N.I. 14)

(4)

The definition of “official error” was amended by regulation 3(2)(b) of S.R. 2002 No. 189 and paragraph 7(a)(ii) of Schedule 2 to S.R. 2003 No. 274